Melissa McCarthy’s “Identity Thief” comedy tops box-office

PanARMENIAN.Net - “Identity Thief” is looking at a return trip to the top of the box office after a $4 million Friday, February 22 put it on course for a third weekend north of $13 million, TheWrap said.

That propelled the Melissa McCarthy-Jason Bateman comedy past the weekend's two wide openers. Summit's Dwayne Johnson action film “Snitch” was running second. It also took in roughly $4 million Friday and is looking at an $11.5 million weekend. The Weinstein Company's low-budget horror thriller “Dark Skies” was fourth Friday with an esimtated $3.2 million Friday, and will bring in around $8.5 million for the three days.

“Identity Thief” is 2013's biggest movie at the box office, and Universal's R-rated comedy has made more than $82 million domestically since opening No. 1 with $34 million on February 8.

Oscar weekend is typically slow at the box office, and this one will be, too. It's running about 25 percent behind the comparable weekend last year, when “Act of Valor” led the way with $24 million.

Audiences gave the PG-rated drug trade tale “Snitch” a “B” CinemaScore, and a “C+” to the PG-13 thriller “Dark Skies,” which revolves around a couple trying to save their family from an alien presence and stars Keri Russell and Josh Hamilton.

“Safe Haven,” Relativity's Nicholas Sparks adaptation starring Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel, was running third. It took in $3.5 million Friday and is on pace for a $10.5 million second week.

“Escape From Planet Earth,” the Weinstein Company's computer animated kids movie was running fourth with $3 million Friday. It's the only real family fare in the market, and should get to roughly $9.5 million in its second weekend.

Last week's No. 1 movie, the R-rated Bruce “Good Day to Die Hard” took a tumble despite remaining in a market-high 3,555 locations. Its $2.8 million Friday translates to a roughly $9 million weekend, which would be about a 60 percent drop from last week for the fifth installment in “Die Hard” franchise. The foreign box office will be the key to profitability for "Good Day," which was produced for $92 million. Its overseas grosses so far are already nearly double its $42 million domestic total, and it has taken in nearly $125 million globally.

Best Picture Oscar nominee “Silver Linings Playbook” took in $1.6 million Friday and is looking at $5.8 million for the weekend.